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Communications
Communications Resources
- Press Releases
ASM Press Releases from the past three years. - Meetings Information
Information on the major annual ASM meetings and Conferences. - Journal Tipsheets
ASM Journal Tipsheets from the past three years. - Education Reports
Review of Reports issued by ASM’s Education Department.
The ASM Communications program is governed by the ASM Communications Committee, a committee of ASM member microbiologist volunteers. The vision of the ASM Communications Committee is universal understanding and appreciation of microbes.
What's New in Communications?
Microbes capture, store, and release nitrogen to feed reef-building coral
WASHINGTON, DC – May 14, 2013 – Microscopic algae that live within reef-forming corals scoop up available nitrogen, store the excess in crystal form, and slowly feed it to the coral as needed, according to a study published in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. Scientists have...
05-14-2013
Pathogen turns protein into a virulence factor in one easy step
WASHINGTON, DC – May 7, 2013 -- To infect its host, the respiratory pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa takes an ordinary protein usually involved in making other proteins and adds three small molecules to turn it into a key for gaining access to human cells. In a study to be published May 7 in mBio®, the...
05-07-2013
Protein Improves Efficacy of Tumor-killing Enzyme
WASHINGTON, DC – April 30, 2013 – Scientists have devised a method for delivering tumor cell-killing enzymes in a way that protects the enzyme until it can do its work inside the cell. In their study in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, researchers assembled microscopic protein...
04-30-2013
Roundworm Quells Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders
WASHINGTON, DC – April 25, 2013 – Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, have shown in a mouse model that infection with nematodes (also known as roundworms) can not only combat obesity but ameliorate related metabolic disorders. Their research is published ahead of print online in the...
04-25-2013
The Microbes You Inhale on the New York City Subway
WASHINGTON, DC – April 24, 2013 – The microbial population in the air of the New York City subway system is nearly identical to that of ambient air on the city streets. This research, published ahead of print in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, establishes an important baseline, should it become necessary...
04-24-2013
Virus Kills Melanoma In Animal Model, Spares Normal Cells
WASHINGTON, DC – April 23, 2013 – Researchers from Yale University School of Medicine have demonstrated that vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is highly competent at finding, infecting, and killing human melanoma cells, both in vitro and in animal models, while having little propensity to infect non-cancerous cells.
04-23-2013
High-Salt Diet and Ulcer Bug Combine to Increase Risk of Cancer
WASHINGTON, DC – April 18, 2013 – Numerous epidemiologic studies have shown that a diet high in salt is associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer. Now Timothy L. Cover and colleagues of Vanderbilt University show that high dietary salt combined with infection by the ulcer-causing bacterium Helicobacter pylori greatly increases the...
04-18-2013
Circumcision Alters Penis Microbiome, Could Explain HIV Protection
WASHINGTON, DC – April 16, 2013 – Circumcision drastically alters the microbiome of the penis, changes that could explain why circumcision offers protection against HIV and other viral infections. In a study to be published on April 16 in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, researchers studied...
04-16-2013
New Mouse Viruses Could Aid Hepatitis Research
WASHINGTON, DC – April 9, 2013 – Newly discovered mouse viruses could pave the way for future progress in hepatitis research, enabling scientists to study human disease and vaccines in the ultimate lab animal. In a study to be published in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology,...
04-08-2013
Symbiotic Bacteria Program Daily Rhythms in Squid Using Light and Chemicals
WASHINGTON, DC – April 2, 2013 – Glowing bacteria inside squids use light and chemical signals to control circadian-like rhythms in the animals, according to a study to be published on April 2 in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, houses a...
04-02-2013